


Bad News

by ElenaCee



Series: Devil's Trap [13]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Wings, Angels groom each other, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-untypical Violence, Case fic (sort of), F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Hurt/Comfort, Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV) Whump, Lucifer has many brothers, Magical Artifacts, Magical Realism, Original Character(s), Whump, Wing Grooming, lots of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElenaCee/pseuds/ElenaCee
Summary: When a young woman is murdered, a new threat appears on the scene. Meanwhile, the truth about Lucifer's identity begins to leak.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I figured it was time to introduce a recurring nemesis to break up all that fluff, lol. And I've been thinking about the S3 antagonist being a Nephilim so often that I thought I may as well introduce him in this series.
> 
>  
> 
> **Warning for Chapter 4: Graphic depictions of violence. I mean it. Proceed at your discretion.**
> 
>  
> 
> As always, thanks so much for all your comments, kudos and bookmarks for the preceding parts of this series and on the first three chapters of this story! You guys are really everything a fanfic writer can hope for. <3

 

Chloe drifted awake as a gust of warm breath ghosted along her bare back.

The breath was followed by the hot touch of lips on her nape. She smiled, rolling over and opening her eyes.

Two sparkling chocolate brown eyes met hers. “Good morning, my love. I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news,” Lucifer intoned.

She reached out to put her arms around his neck. Her barely functioning vision had determined that he was wearing his silk robe and nothing else, which was a state of affairs she would immediately make full use of. “Oh?” she breathed.

He nodded tragically, letting himself be pulled into her embrace. “One, your phone just pinged. We’ve got a case.”

She sighed, immediately more awake and shelving her plans, not without regrets. _Dammit._ “That _is_ bad news.”

“It’s not all.” His expression turned even more sepulchral. “I really don’t know how to phrase this delicately.” He paused for effect. “Chloe, I fear that you’ve got the Devil in your bed.”

“Really.” She tried her best to keep her expression serious while her heart thudded with her love for him.

He nodded again at the tragedy of it all.

She half raised herself up while pulling his head down so she could brush her nose against his and stare into his beautiful eyes from up close. “Nope. Sorry. I don’t see any devils.” New case or no, his mischievous mood apparently was infectious.

He briefly rested his forehead against hers before joining her on the bed and settling down in her arms, gently stroking her shoulder and neck with his long fingers. “He’s disguised, the cunning fiend,” he purred against the other side of her neck. “Currently looking like a harmless, albeit very handsome, civilian consultant to the LAPD. But I have irrefutable proof that he’s really the Devil. I could show you if you’d like.”

Chloe felt a thrill of joy as she realized that he seemed to be leading up to shifting into his Devil form unprompted. And he was doing it so playfully, like it was no big deal, even though she was aware that it very much was.

A while ago, she’d told him that he was welcome to shift any time he felt like it, without needing to worry about her reaction or even to announce the change beforehand. He’d never done it so far, not casually, only unconsciously in his sleep, or when he needed to punish someone, or to heal himself. Doing it here, now, was a momentous step.

She threaded the fingers of one hand into his hair to touch his scalp beneath the cool strands, touching him as if he’d already changed, inviting him to do it.

Dropping the act, he raised his eyes to look at her as if asking permission.

“Go ahead,” she whispered. One day soon, she swore she would make him realize that he did not need to ask, however silently.

He gave her a brief smile, full of love and gratitude, and then she really had the Devil in her bed.

Welcoming him, she ran her hand up and down his scorched back, across the roots of his currently invisible wings, feeling smooth angelic skin amidst the scars and burns - the only spots on his body untouched by the transformation into the Devil he had suffered when he Fell. Her other hand remained on his face, slowly stroking the warm, paper-thin red skin, giving him the affection and caresses he so craved, especially in this form.

He relaxed against her, sighing in pleasure, revelling in her touch. Chloe hated the fact that duty would cut his enjoyment short after only a few minutes. The way he turned his face into her hand told her eloquently how touch-starved he still was, even though she tried to give him this whenever there was time and opportunity. She knew he would need more than just those few minutes to relax enough to fully enjoy it, and so much more to even begin to make up for the eons of neglect he had suffered.

But he had woken her up, had instigated this whole thing, had dared to impose his true form upon her. And he had _joked_ about it. Progress!

Maybe, she mused as she ran her fingertips over his parted lips, feeling his warm breath against her palm, this was due to the fact that she had recently managed to connect to his former self, when he had regressed into his old identity and she’d kissed Samael and told him that he was loved. Maybe Linda had been right, and something good had truly come of his illness.

_If so,_ she thought, _and if that was really Your doing, I take it all back, God. It’s helped him. Thank you._

 

* * *

 

They were half an hour late.

Dan threw Chloe a look as though doubting her sanity, but he didn’t say anything, content with switching targets and glowering at Lucifer. She had no trouble following her ex’s train of thought and rolled her eyes at him.

No, not everything was Lucifer’s fault. No, he hadn’t distracted her with sex. It was all on her this time. So she hadn’t had the heart to stop so soon. She’d wanted him to be able to feel this simple pleasure for a while longer, after having been deprived of it for an eternity. So sue her. Besides, the it wasn’t like the vic of their next case was going to get any deader.

Speaking of which, time to be professional and assemble in the conference room. Apparently, CSI had already been hard at work.

Ella took the stage while Chloe, Lucifer, and Dan milled around looking at the pinned photos. “Vic’s an unidentified female, mid-twenties, hispanic descent, died from a blow to the back of her head with a blunt instrument. Single blow, very powerful, broke her skull and shattered the topmost two vertebrae in her neck.” Ella shook her head with a mixture of disgust and admiration. “She would have died instantly and never known what hit her.”

Chloe nodded noncommittally. “Murder weapon?”

“None on the scene. Could’ve been anything. Baseball bat. Large hammer.” Ella grimaced. “Worst part’s yet to come. Autopsy reveals that she was three months pregnant.”

Briefly, no one said anything. As inured as anyone working at Homicide eventually became to violence, some things were still horrible enough to shock. Chloe even thought she could hear Lucifer growl, soft and so deep it was almost subsonic.

“She was killed between two and two thirty AM last night,” Ella went on after a pause. “Her body was found in the street near a church, and everything points to her having been killed there as well.”

“Any witnesses?” Chloe asked. “Suspects?”

Dan nodded in the direction of the interrogation room. “Father Percy, priest at the Church of Saint Mary. Surveillance footage places him near the scene at the time, but he won’t say anything.”

“Leave him to me,” Lucifer ground out, who had listened to the whole thing in silence except for his brief growl, face dark. “I’ll get him to confess before you can say ‘I bet the priest did it’.” Without waiting for a reply, he walked out of the room.

_Uh-oh._ Chloe recognized the signs. “Lucifer, wait!” she called after him. “Excellent groundwork, Dan, Ella,” she added, before hurrying after the Devil to keep him from dismembering anyone. “Dan, I’ll need you in surveillance, just in case.”

She didn’t need to explain. “You got it, Chloe!” Dan called after her.

 

* * *

 

Chloe would have thought that Lucifer’s experience with Father Frank might have disabused him of the notion that all God’s servants were automatically suspect, but apparently not. And when he stalked in and the priest looked up at him, eyes wide, she realized that in this case, this strange enmity went both ways.

“You!” Father Percy said hoarsely, crossing himself.

Lucifer snorted humorlessly. “Yes, me. Fat lot of good _that_ will do, by the way. Now. Confess and make it easy on yourself. Well. Relatively easy.”

There had been a time, before she’d learned the truth about him, when Chloe might have asked whether the two knew each other. Now, she knew enough to sit back and let things unfold and only interfere to keep the Devil in check. The information that the priest (all priests, or just this one?) apparently recognized Satan on sight was filed away in her mental file about General Luciferness.

“Y-you are with the cops?” the priest stammered.

“I am indeed. Since you know who I am, Padre, you also know that I punish the guilty, and where better to find guilty humans than at the side of a homicide detective?” Lucifer said, grinning. Again, the grin was devoid of humor.

Father Percy threw Chloe a beseeching look. “Are you aware that you work with the Devil, Detective? With Satan incarnate?”

Chloe nodded casually. “Hmhm. Best partner I ever had.” Okay. Time to nip this appeal to her sympathy in the bud. This wasn’t Good Cop, Devil Cop. This was Pissed Cop, Furious Devil Cop. “Are you aware that you’re under suspicion of having murdered a pregnant woman last night?”

The priest’s features turned stony. “I’m not saying anything without my lawyer present.”

“See, and that’s where you’re wrong, Padre,” Lucifer purred, leaning forward. “You _will_ tell me everything.”

The priest looked down and to the side, avoiding Lucifer’s gaze. “Get the Evil One away from me, Detective!” he wailed. “I’m innocent! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“If you’re really innocent,” Chloe said, “then you don’t have to fear anything from him, Father.”

“Yes,” Lucifer put in, “because I only punish the guilty. Time to find out if you are. Look at me, Padre. Let me see inside your rotten soul.”

Father Percy squirmed and twisted in his seat, but the suggestion was too strong, and finally, he raised his head to look into Lucifer’s eyes.

“There you go,” Lucifer purred. “Now. Tell me what dark, secret desires lurk inside you. There’s no use holding back, you know. My father knows everything. You might as well tell me, too.”

The priest’s teeth ground together audibly. “I want to see this whole, degenerate world overthrown and brought under a new rule,” he said, low and dark.

“Woah,” Chloe said softly, wondering whether the guy was a nutjob, or whether there was something more going on here, and the murder they were investigating was just a symptom of a bigger disease.

“Really,” Lucifer said, sounding intrigued. “And how do you intend to accomplish this ambitious goal?”

“ _I_ won’t accomplish it,” Father Percy said, glowering at Lucifer but unable to escape the Devil’s charm. “My friend will.”

“And who’s your friend?” Chloe put in.

“He’s the one who will get me out of this,” the priest growled.

Lawyer? Chloe speculated. Bodyguard? Lover? Assassin?

“A name,” Lucifer said intently, leaning forward. “Tell me his name!”

“I….”

“Tell me!” His dark eyes flashed red fire.

The priest groaned, but finally he ground out, “Ephraim.”

Chloe looked at Lucifer, but his expression did not convey any recognition.

Lucifer frowned, his eyes cooling. “And why would this Ephraim be able to vanquish all the human societies on earth? Not just an ordinary lunatic, I imagine. What is he?”

They were getting off track of solving the murder, Chloe realized, but decided to let this play out for a bit longer. She was getting used to most all their cases lately having to do with Celestial affairs in some way or another.

“I won’t tell you that,” the priest said. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Oh, will I?” Lucifer grinned. “I’ve always wanted to meet someone bent on world domination. Just send him by Lux with greetings from me.”

Percy scowled.

“So,” Lucifer went on, “why did you kill that woman?”

“I did not kill her!” the priest shouted.

In a flash, Lucifer shifted. “A lie will not save your soul!” the Devil growled.

Chloe looked up at the camera in one corner of the interrogation room and made throat-cutting motions, hoping like hell that Dan was in Surveillance and could take care of the footage before anyone else saw it.

Meanwhile, the priest shrieked. “I didn’t! I didn’t! I swear I didn’t! I didn’t touch her. It was -” He cut himself off.

“Yes?” Lucifer said, still in his Devil form, his voice deeper and echoing slightly. “Our future ruler of the world, by any chance?”

Pale as a sheet by now, Father Percy nodded.

Lucifer grinned, turning back to his human form. “Thought so. It’s _so_ hard to be a tyrant without some collateral damage along the way, isn’t it. And as for you, Padre, I’d get started on the whole repentance and self-flagellation thing pronto if I were you. Being friends with a murderer and future tyrant doesn’t exactly improve your chances of getting into Heaven, you know.”

 

* * *

 

They’d let the priest go. Lucifer was convinced that, while he was probably guilty of something, he definitely hadn’t murdered the pregnant woman, so they could not legally hold him in custody any longer anyway. But they could keep him under surveillance, on the general assumption that he would try to get in contact with this “Ephraim” sooner or later.

And he did. The priest had barely closed the door of the Uber he had called when Chloe was contacted by a tech about Father Percy calling a number and a voice on the other end of the line identifying himself as Ephraim.

“Oh, the marvels of modern technology,” Lucifer commented while Chloe waited for the trace to finish. “I remember the times when we might have had to race after a carrier pigeon, or a messenger, or put the guy under physical surveillance for ages. This is so much more comfortable.”

She watched the Devil pop another jelly baby into his mouth while lounging back on the passenger seat of her car. Definitely enjoying the marvels of modern technology, yeah. Blocking the microphone on her phone with one finger, she said, “I would say that you could use the exercise with all that goo you’re consuming, but, yeah. Be glad for your supernatural metabolism. I’d have to put you on a diet sooner or later otherwise.” It was honestly amazing how he could eat so much rubbish and still look so good.

“You wouldn’t deny me my earthly pleasures, would you?” he said, grinning. “There’s lots of nice ways to work off excess calories, and I know them all.” His grin turned lascivious, and there was the tip of his tongue poking the inside of his cheek.

“Detective?” the tech’s tinny voice said from her phone.

“Ya,” Chloe said, glad that her blush would not transmit. She listened to the address on the other end of the trace and signed off, still feeling residual heat in her cheeks.

From the grin her own personal Devil gave her, her blush was still very visible.

 

* * *

 

These days, Chloe preferred not to have any SWAT units around when things got dicey.

Explaining this to her superiors would be useless, though. After all, there was protocol, and potential misjudging of dangerous situations and its legal consequences. There was also the fact that having to contain himself to spare human witnesses cramped Lucifer’s style. And most importantly, having Chloe around making him vulnerable to human injury cramped his style even more.

So, to deal with all of these cramps in one fell stroke, Lucifer would go in before anyone one else was around, and Chloe would follow with the mandatory SWAT in hopes that the sitch was resolved and all Celestial activity had ceased by the time they got there.

They had tried putting a wire on Lucifer once so they could communicate in these situations, but that had turned out to be a bust as soon as Lucifer shifted. Apparently, sensitive electronic equipment didn’t survive close exposure to whatever Hellish emanations the Devil radiated. Ella was working on a solution, but she wasn’t really an expert in electronics, so that part was still a work in progress.

Meanwhile, Ephraim had been classed a threat that warranted at least one SWAT unit because of the potential nutjob factor alone, which meant that once again Lucifer would have to deal with him before the rest of the team arrived.

“I can give you ten minutes, max,” Chloe said, fastening her bullet-proof vest and checking her gun. “There’s only so much procrastination I can do before it’ll start to look suspicious. So, go. Now.”

He looked at her, giving her a small, almost deferential nod. Dressed in jeans and leather jacket, he pointedly wore no bullet-proof vest. If their timing worked out, he wouldn’t need one. “Take care,” he said curtly.

“You too.”

Then he was gone, a gust of wind blowing a loose strand of Chloe’s hair about her head.

When asked about her partner, she gave the usual spiel to the SWAT leader. “He’s gone in ahead of us. Don’t worry about him, Pete, he’s a veritable devil at unarmed combat. I’ll bet he won’t leave anything for us to do.”

The team went by car, which, even with police sirens engaged, would take a certain amount of time, while Lucifer could go as the angel flew, and much faster, too. Chloe could only hope that this would leave him enough time to sort things out.

But as the cars came screeching to a halt fifteen minutes after Lucifer had left and the team swarmed out to surround the building, a two-storey suburban home, Chloe knew that this time, her hope had been in vain. Darkness was falling and the lights were on in the house. Silhouetted against the drawn blinds in one room, the dark shapes of two men fighting inside could clearly be made out.

No - they were not men, neither of them. They _both_ had wings.

And now, Chloe was too close for Lucifer to still be invulnerable.

While SWAT scrambled to take their positions and Chloe was still debating what to do about her presence here, there was a crash. One of the windows shattered; the blind billowed out as the two winged forms came tumbling through the newly-made opening, each pair of wings flapping wildly while their other limbs were locked in combat, a flapping, hissing and growling mass of heads and wings and legs that barely managed to clear the ground. Chloe could just make out that there was blood on both combatants, on their clothes and faces and wings, and that Ephraim’s wings were a dirty grey and looked much smaller than Lucifer’s majestic white ones when, from one second to the next, they both disappeared from sight.

“What the -” the SWAT leader said into the ensuing silence. Around him, his team were pulling out torches to light the area in hopes of catching sight of their target.

Chloe managed a non-committal shrug. “That was either a damned good special effect or two angels fighting before vanishing to another plane of existence. I know which I believe.”

Pete threw her a look. “There’s rumors about your partner, Chloe,” he said, assault rifle in hand aiming at nothing. “And my cousin works for a VFX company. Something like this would take hours and dozens of computers rendering images nonstop. No way that was a special effect.”

_Dammit. Oh well. It works for Lucifer._ Chloe nodded. “Yeah, my partner’s the Devil. He’s been telling that everyone since day one.”

“Chloe,” Pete said, eyes back on the house looking for something to shoot at. “You’re not the type to partner up with someone who’s delusional. There’s clearly more going on here than meets the eye. But all I really need to know right now is, will this -” he raised his gun - “do any good against the target?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe said honestly, her own gun in hand, safety off. “We still don’t know what this Ephraim is.” She gave Pete a bright smile. “If he really is an angel, though, these things won’t do zilch.”

She was interrupted by a loud noise and a shape appearing next to her, and before she could make head or tails of what was happening, strong arms grabbed her and lifted her off the ground.

“Don’t struggle,” and unfamiliar voice growled into her ear, which killed all hopes that it was Lucifer who had grabbed her, and soon, she found herself several dozen yards above ground level, being carried away from the house. Torchlight beams followed her but soon lost her as the distance increased.

“Show yourself, Lucifer, or I’ll drop her!” the man - thing - being shouted into the increasing darkness.

“He’s going to eviscerate you for this,” Chloe hissed into his ear, “and if you know the first thing about him, you know this. Your only chance is surrender.”

“He won’t do anything to risk harm coming to you,” Ephraim hissed back. He sounded American and looked quite human, if it weren’t for the fact that he was currently carrying her through the air by virtue of his wings. “Stop trying to bluff me.”

“Yes, but once you’ve dropped me, there’s nothing stopping him eviscerating you,” Chloe pointed out. “Now who’s bluffing?”

Just then, Lucifer materialized on the Earthly plane a few yards away from them. Contrary to the human-looking Ephraim, he was all Devil now, eyes glowing, great white wings beating slowly to keep him in position, a powerful manifestation of a fallen Archangel defying the laws of physics. “Go to ground, Ephraim, now,” he said, voice deep and echoing, “and pray God your soul to keep.” His eyes flashed white briefly. “But honestly, it’s not looking good on that front.”

“You won’t stop me!” Ephraim shrieked, clearly rattled by this infernal and yet divine being, his voice so loud that Chloe’s ear rang. “I’ve only gotten started! This is just a stumbling block on my path to glory! Nothing, no human, no angel, not even _you_ will stand in my way!”

_He’s insane,_ Chloe realized. _Absolutely stark raving mad._

The Devil’s eyes glowed again, red this time. “You’re not even one of my bloody siblings, are you,” he said. “You’re a Nephilim. Oh, that’s bad. Someone’s gonna get in trouble over this. Who fathered you?”

Ephraim’s arms around Chloe shifted their hold, and Chloe made eye contact with Lucifer. _He’s about to drop me,_ she mouthed, bringing her right hand in position.

“Who created you?” Lucifer repeated, giving no sign of having seen her.

Ephraim scoffed. “No idea, and I don’t care. I’m here, and I’m not going away.”

Lucifer’s eyes widened in realization. “You killed that human woman because she was carrying your unborn sibling. You wanted to eliminate possible competition. You’re truly insane.”

“I’m unique! There can’t be another one like me! And I’m better than all these humans!” Ephraim hissed. “They don’t deserve this place. I’m going to take it from them.” Again, he adjusted his hold around Chloe.

She looked down. The ground was very far away, but not too far away for her to make out movement below of the SWAT team following them, keeping them in their sights. Now and then, a beam from a torch found them. There was nothing they could do, though. A drop would surely kill her.

But she trusted Lucifer. Trusted the Devil with her life.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Lucifer growled. Then he looked at Chloe with a brief nod and vanished.

Chloe took her cue and pulled the trigger of her gun she had brought to bear on Ephraim’s head. The report nearly deafened her. She scrunched her eyes shut, expecting to get splattered by bone and gray matter, but didn’t feel anything.

A fraction of a second later, a rift appeared next to Ephraim, who gave a strangled groan as something white impacted him even as two arms grabbed Chloe to pull her inside. The world turned blue.

Before her widened eyes, Lucifer pulled back one of his wings. The outermost three pinions were red with blood, along nearly their whole length. _Those are weapons,_ he’d told Chloe once, and now she had proof.

Wings beating slowly, he kept his position, his arms around Chloe, holding her secure, while Ephraim, with an expression of incredulous surprise on his face, began to fall to the ground, one hand pressed to his side with blood leaking out between his fingers, his own weakly flapping wings barely managing to keep him from plummeting like a stone.

“Are you okay?” Lucifer asked, still hovering, turning back to his human form.

She held onto him, relief flooding her. “Fine. He didn’t hurt me. You?”

He smiled. “I’ll live.” There was blood on his face and neck, and on his wings as well. Clearly, he had taken some damage in the fight.

_One angel can hurt another,_ Chloe remembered, and even though Ephraim was Nephilim, not full-blooded angel, he clearly had still been able to inflict some damage on the Devil. And there had been at least a few minutes when she’d been close enough to Lucifer to negate his invulnerability.

Meanwhile, down below in the blue world, SWAT began to converge around the fallen figure, but before the humans could reach it, Ephraim, too, had vanished from sight.

“He’s powerful, for a Nephilim,” Lucifer commented, gliding down onto the street a short distance away from the team and putting Chloe onto her feet. “He’ll probably be back, the bloody maniac. That wound I dealt him won’t kill him.”

The world resumed its colorful spectrum; sounds and smells returned, and Lucifer appeared wingless again.

“I shot him through the head,” she said, putting her gun back into its holster. “Maybe that will slow him down a bit.”

He gave her one of his admiring looks. “Detective,” he said, clearly using her rank for old times’ sake, “you never cease to amaze me. But I’m afraid he’s at least somewhat resistant to human weapons, or he wouldn’t have been able to escape to another plane of existence just then.”

“Well, damn.”

“You could put it that way. He’s our killer, and we’ll get him yet.”

She looked at him, bloodied and bedraggled from the fight. Residual adrenaline coursed through her, and only the fact that she was still on duty kept her from pulling his head down and kissing him thoroughly.

Which was a good thing, because by then, SWAT, or at least its captain, had found them. “What the hell was all that?” Pete said. “Where’d he go?”

Chloe considered that, one, she needed a drink, and two, her report would require some creative writing for sure. “Long story,” she began.

Lucifer, however, mooted her need for the one, if not the other. “The would-be ruler of this world has gone to ground to lick his wounds,” he said into her creative pause, “not that he’s welcome anywhere but here.”

“So he’ll be back?” Pete asked.

“On the Earthly plane, yes. Here, in his house, probably not.” He passed a hand across his face and frowned at the trace of red that came away.

“Right.” Pete looked at him, clearly torn between admiration and fear. “So, you’re really the Devil?” It was barely a question.

Lucifer grinned his most toothy grin. “Yes.”

“Well, damn.”

Lucifer raised his eyebrows at him.

“Sorry.” Pete sighed. “Chloe, we’ll need to have a sit-down sometime soon. Clearly, the rulebook on SWAT operations needs an unofficial re-write where the two of you are concerned.”

 

* * *

 

Now that the fun was over, Lucifer, bored at the precinct and faced with the choice to either annoy someone or do some actual paperwork, had decided to leave Chloe to it and go be somewhere else. She didn’t blame him. He probably needed some time alone to lick his own wounds, to groom his wings after the fight, to get the blood out of his feathers at the very least, maybe to do some research into the Nephilim’s possible parentage, or just to have the drink or ten that Chloe still couldn’t allow herself.

And so it was a surprise when, an hour later and her work done, Chloe arrived at her apartment to find his car parked nearby.

“It’s only Mommy,” she heard Trixie announce when she’d closed the door behind her. “You can stay as you are.”

Curious, Chloe peeked around the corner.

The Devil, winged and shirtless, was lying face down on the floor of her living room, a blanket underneath him and Trixie kneeling next to him, an opened first aid kit on the blanket and a roll of band-aid and a pair of scissors in her hands.

“Hello, my love,” Lucifer said softly. He hadn’t moved and only briefly opened his dark red eyes to make contact with hers. “Welcome to Doctor Trixie’s infirmary. The small human was quite determined, so I thought this was the path of least resistance.”

The image of her daughter bulldozing the actual Devil into letting her patch him up was just too cute. Chloe smiled. “I see. Is this a private party, or can anyone join?”

“I haven’t done his wings yet,” Trixie said, patting the blanket on Lucifer’s other side invitingly. “And I’m afraid some of his wounds will require stitches.”

Chloe sat down, facing her daughter across Lucifer’s back. Fortunately, no sewing equipment was in evidence. She had no doubt that Lucifer would actually let Trixie stitch him up, but that would definitely be taking things too far. “Really? Show me.”

Trixie pointed at two deep cuts on Lucifer’s shoulder next to his neck. They were indeed still sluggishly oozing blood.

“I thought turning into this form would heal you,” she said to the apparently dozing Devil.

Lucifer blinked his eyes open. “It’ll heal normal human damage, yes. This is damage caused by a Nephilim. He may not be a true angel, but he clearly still has enough divinity in him to harm me, and as you can see, that kind of damage doesn’t heal quite so easily.”

She took the scissors and cut off a bit of gauze to dab it against the wounds. Lucifer hissed and blinked at her accusingly.

“Wuss,” Trixie commented, reaching for the gauze.

Chloe fixed her with a look. “It’s already way past your bedtime, little weasel.”

Big brown eyes turned even bigger. “But it’s Sunday tomorrow. I can sleep in.”

She lowered her head. “Still way past your bedtime.”

“Oh!” Trixie said, winking at her. “You want to do naked stuff. I’m gone.” She leaned in to whisper into her ear, “I don’t think he’s too sick for naked stuff, Mommy. He’s just a big wuss.”

“I heard that,” Lucifer said without opening his eyes.

“Night, Lucifer!”

Smiling, Chloe watched her bounce off towards her room. “Brush your teeth, Trix!” she called after her.

Lucifer twisted his head to one side so he could look at her out of his currently dark red eyes. “Does it not worry you that your offspring is so unfazed by the sight of blood and injury?” he said softly.

She settled down and went back to patching the Devil up. “She’s the daughter of two cops. Comes with the territory, I suppose.” The white gauze made a stark contrast against the dark red, partially blackened skin when she attached it to his shoulder. She waited for a bit, but the gauze remained untainted by any blood seeping through it.

“Is this the worst of it?” she asked then.

“Couple of bruises, but yes, that’s the only place where he got me with his wing. He may be part angel, but I am still an Archangel.” He moved his wing so she could see its reddened tip where his razor-sharp pinions had speared the Nephilim.

She settled down and reached for his wing. “Doesn’t it worry you that you just let a ‘human spawn’ doctor you without, I don’t know, puking or anything?” She got hold of the outermost pinion and began to preen the dried blood out of it.

He closed his eyes at her touch. “She’s never made me want to vomit, Chloe. She’s just very… impetuous in bestowing her affection, which is not something I have encountered very often.”

The wing twitched, and Chloe was obliged to hold onto it with her other hand so she could work. “Hold still,” she muttered, turning to the next pinion.

“Sorry,” Lucifer said softly, eyes still closed.

He still had not resumed his human form. Chloe wondered whether he would take this form more often now when they were alone, and listened inside herself to find out whether she’d like that. Found that, yes, she’d like that very much. While his human form was beautiful and sexy, his Devil form was sexy in an almost animalistic way. It spoke to something primitive within her.

“We must make plans,” the Devil said softly, interrupting her musings. “Ephraim is obviously quite insane, and he needs to be stopped before he messes up Dad’s experiment.”

She pulled her fingers down the third pinion, soothed by the action and by Lucifer’s soft, even breathing, despite the severity of the topic he had switched to. “Wouldn’t He intervene?” she asked.

“He didn’t when Mum dicked around with Azrael’s blade and humans got killed by a divine blade, so, I doubt it. But in any case, I won’t sit idly by. I like you humans. I like this place. No idiot nephew of mine is going to screw things up for you all if I can help it.”

She let go of his wing and ran her hand down his spine, watching him spread out his wings reflexively and arching his back. A pile of books fell off the side table as his wing brushed against it.

“Ohhh. I love it when you do that.” His voice was barely audible.

“I love watching you do that,” she returned, repeating the motion to the same effect.

He moaned on an exhale.

It did things to her. “Shall we move this party to the bedroom?” she said softly, leaning down to kiss the Devil’s hot skin on his nape, next to the gauze.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said, his voice already in its lowest register, which did more things to Chloe.

She watched him get up on his knees, carefully, very obviously already very much in the mood for sex despite his injuries. Impulsively, her hand found his head, fingers spread on his naked skull. “Stay like this?” she asked.

He looked at her out of his dark red eyes, and she could see the faint glow in them increase. “Really?”

She nodded, stroking along his skull and down his cheek, watching him open his mouth as he breathed out. “Hmhm. You feel things more intensely in this form. I just want you to feel good.”

He put his hand on hers. “I couldn’t possibly not feel good when I’m with you, Chloe.”

“Even better, then. Will you?”

The glow in his eyes kindled to a blaze. “Oh, yes. If that is your desire, my love.”

She smiled, finding herself really getting into the mood. Seemed she had a thing for his glowing eyes. “It is. My deepest, darkest desire.”

“Then, by all means, let’s find out which one of us will make your daughter investigate strange noises this time.”

“Lucifer, she’s almost ten, and she has the Internet. I’m sure she knows by now what’s going on.”

“Then let’s prove her right, my Consort.”


	2. Chapter 2

 

“You’re doing it again,” Chloe said over breakfast the next day.

She received an uncomprehending look. “I’m doing what again?”

She suppressed a fond sigh. Lucifer had made a lot of progress, true, but he still wasn’t exactly the most self-aware person she’d ever met. “Letting a case affect you personally,” she clarified.

He dragged his attention away from the window to face her. “I’m doing no such thing.” The denial was quick, but followed equally quickly by his inability to tell a lie and let it stand uncorrected. “The Nephilim is still out there. I’m keeping watch, so, yes, I’m a little distracted. That’s not ‘letting it affect me’, though, that’s ‘taking precautions’. Not the same thing.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Chloe said gently. She had noticed, of course, how he didn’t allow himself to relax completely ever since they had encountered the half-angel, and she understood. Hell, she herself was constantly on the lookout for rips appearing in the world and arms reaching out to grab her again. She doubted that either of them would be able to totally be at ease until this thing was over. “I meant last night.”

Immediately, a look of concern came into his eyes. “Did I do something wrong? Were you not pleased? From the sounds of it, I brought you pleasure last night.”

She refused to blush. Yeah, she’d been loud, and yeah, he definitely had brought her pleasure, as he always did. So much so, in fact, that she’d almost missed it. “Lucifer,” she said, “you did nothing wrong. But I did notice that you…” Now she did blush. “Didn’t… let yourself come. All night.”

At first, she’d thought that his injuries were to blame, and that maybe he was in too much pain to get in the mood for sex after all. However, his body had quite obviously been very much in the mood, so she’d started thinking.

He looked away, then back at her. “That doesn’t matter.”

She took his hand. “It does to me. You’ve never been afraid of accidentally getting me pregnant before. You even explained to me how it couldn’t happen. Then this nutjob appears on the scene, and now it seems like you are afraid, even though nothing’s changed for you and me. So, I’m confused.”

He bit his lip. “I don’t dare take the risk, however minimal it may be,” he said, looking down at his hand in hers. “Dad’s always been strict about this sort of thing not happening, and we’ve just seen why.”

“I understand that, but.” She hesitated. Yeah, she’d been having nebulous thoughts about having a child with him, but she’d never voiced them, or even considered them with any seriousness. There were hundreds of very good reasons against it, from Lucifer’s general Luciferness to all the issues involved with raising a half-devil. Besides, she already had Trixie, and she had a demanding and dangerous job.

She also had these thoughts, though. And now, she felt like she was losing a child she’d never had.

“What are the odds of a Nephilim turning out like Ephraim?” she finally said. “I mean, are they automatically, inevitably, insane or evil, every one of them? Is that why God doesn’t want them to exist?”

He thought about it, then shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve met a few after, you know, they were finally slain, and they all suffered from one thing; excessive pride. While that’s not evil, it’s still a deadly sin, so. But they weren’t insane per se.” He frowned, considering some more. “Ephraim may be a special case. He certainly didn’t have any contact to his father, since he said he doesn’t know who he is, and I believe him. A half-Celestial alone among humans with no divine guidance whatsoever would certainly run a high risk of going insane.” A glow came into his eyes briefly. “This whole thing is on whichever of my brothers couldn’t keep it in his pants. I hope Dad goes all Old Testament on his arse.”

Chloe loved it whenever he let her catch a glimpse of the Devil he was, but this was too important to become distracted by the mixture of awe and fear and desire it awakened in her. “So,” she said, taking the plunge, “do you think you could keep a theoretical child of yours sane, then? With a little help from your friends?” She pointed at herself. “And your Consort?”

He gave her a tender smile. “I don’t know, Chloe.” He turned his hand around and wrapped his long fingers around hers. “Nor did I know you’ve been harboring this kind of thoughts.”

“Yeah, well.” She returned both his smile and the pressure of his fingers. “It was bound to come up eventually, and once it did…”

He raised his head and looked outside again, back to being on guard. “Let’s first deal with this ill-begotten spawn before we even think about risking the existence of another, shall we?”

She nodded. “We shall, indeed.” She’d noticed that he hadn’t outright nixed the notion, though. “So. No more self-denial for you, Lucifer, okay? I won’t be able to have fun either if you don’t allow yourself to indulge in your favorite deadly sin. It’s unsettling. It’s not you. In fact, it’s the opposite of you. Feels like it’s threatening the integrity of the very fabric of the universe, or something.”

He looked back at her, smiling in genuine amusement. “Well, I can’t have that. Dad put a lot of effort into that. Or so I assume.”

She nodded again. “And if anything does happen… we’ll deal with it. Together. Deal?”

He inclined his head. “Deal.”

 

* * *

 

That morning at the precinct was… interesting.

“So, Decker, your partner’s really the Devil, yeah?”

“He actually listens to you? The Devil Himself taking your orders? That’s… awesome, Chloe.”

“Y’know, I always knew there was something off about him, but that? Did not see that coming.”

“He’s still joining us for the department softball thing, though, right? Vice are going to shit their pants if we tell ‘em we got the Devil on our team.”

“Now everything makes sense.”

“You get the Devil for a partner, and I get Keith. Mind if we swap?”

“I made out with the Devil. Oh my God. Great kisser, though.”

“I thought he had a couple of screws loose, and told him so. Repeatedly. Do I need to worry?”

“I knew it.”

“He does make a mean Devil’s Fruitcake. Har har.”

“So, what’s the Devil like in the sack, then? Asking for a friend.”

“Decker, my office. Now.”

Chloe blinked. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

She closed the door behind her, facing Olivia Monroe with her best “come at me sis” expression. After all, Lucifer had always been upfront about who he was. It wasn’t his fault that nobody, including the lieutenant, had believed him.

“So,” Olivia began, “as I believe I asked before, why did you keep such an enormous asset to yourself?”

Chloe kept her face blank. “I didn’t. I’ve been telling everyone that my partner’s the Devil. So has he. It’s just that nobody took us seriously.”

Olivia looked at her, face equally blank. “Well,” she said after a pause, “you’ve obviously had great results, and you got out of some scrapes you shouldn’t have been able to walk away from. That speaks for itself. But now, I read reports about winged humans killing LA citizens. Seems to me like your partner brought his problems to us, and we have to clean up his mess.” She looked around. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Out patrolling,” Chloe said, refusing to be drawn. It wasn’t Olivia’s fault that her world view had just received a major shakeup. She could cut her a little slack. “You know, guarding our plane of existence. Doing everything in his power to keep us safe.”

Olivia’s lips twitched. “The Devil is watching over us, huh?”

“Hmhm.” She really hoped that she wouldn’t have to go into the whole he’s-not-evil spiel yet again.

For a minute, Olivia didn’t say anything. From beyond her door, the sounds of everyday activities could be heard, a testament to the fact that, yes, the Devil walked among the cops and detectives in the Homicide department, and yes, life went on as normal.

Chloe cleared her throat. “We figure it’s only a matter of time before the suspect turns up, either by contacting Father Percy, or by attacking either me or Lucifer. We’ve got the priest under permanent surveillance.”  _ By team consisting of a demon and an angel, _ she didn’t say out loud.

“What if he doesn’t turn up?”

Chloe smiled. Amenadiel had posed the same question when they’d all come together to discuss this. It was entirely possible, he had said, that Ephraim would just cut off all contact with his ally and deny the battle with Lucifer - who, after all, was one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos -, and quietly pursue his plans for world domination behind the scenes. Lucifer, on the other hand, had been confident that they would be able to draw him out by striking at his pride, which always worked. The Devil should know, he had added.

“We think he will, eventually,” she said. “We’ve profiled him, and we identified several weak spots that won’t allow him to just lay low.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Olivia said.

She’d had to ask. Well, she’d just have to be able to bear hearing the truth, then. “All the Celestial beings currently in LA that we know of, plus a human psychiatrist consultant of our mutual acquaintance, Lab Technician Ella Lopez, Detective Espinoza, and myself.” And Trixie, who’d made cookies just for that meeting, with a little help from the Devil himself.

“How many of them are there?” Olivia asked. For the first time, Chloe thought she could see cracks in the lieutenant’s composure.

“Celestial beings? Three, in all,” Chloe said. “Two apart from Lucifer. An angel and a demon.”

She was regarded with a hard stare. “If I hadn’t read the reports from SWAT and if I didn’t know that Pete Summers would never make stuff like that up, I’d schedule a medeval for you right now, Decker.”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Chloe allowed. “But they’re my friends. I’d trust both of them with my life. And Lucifer, too, obviously.”

Olivia sighed and slumped behind her desk. “I always thought that the Devil was evil, and that angels and demons were archenemies. Are you gonna tell me next that Santa’s not real?”

“Sorry,” Chloe said, smiling. “I know it’s a lot to take in. But, yeah, it’s not like they teach us in Sunday school.”

“I guess not.” Olivia sighed again. “Well. I guess it’s useless to ask you to vouch for Mr. Morningstar, or to get him to do anything as ridiculous as swear allegiance to the department -”

“Actually…”

“... He’s the Devil. He’ll obviously do as he damned well pleases, no matter what we do.”

“Actually,” Chloe said again, “he’s a lot more honorable than most people I know. He never lies, and he never breaks his word. Just… talk to him. Ask him what his intentions are. I think you’ll be surprised.”

To her amazement, Olivia blushed. “The last time I had a face-to-face with him, I was surprised indeed. He’s extremely persuasive, not to mention… persuasive.”

Chloe looked to one side. That had been more than a year ago, back when they’d not even been official partners, let alone lovers. A lot had changed since then. “Yeah, well,” she said, “that won’t happen again, trust me.”  _ He wouldn’t do that to me, _ she didn’t add out loud.

Olivia seemed to have read her thoughts. “So you two are really together. Not that it’s any of my business, but…” She caught herself. “Never mind. It’s none of my business. Sorry.”

Chloe smiled in relief. She really didn’t feel like going into the whole what’s-it-like-being-lovers-with-the-Devil thing right now, or ever. “It’s fine. Uh, if that’s all…?”

Olivia visibly pulled herself together. “Yes, that’s all. Thanks, Decker.”

 

* * *

 

“Nothing,” Maze growled. “We’ve been watching the priest for a whole week, twenty-four/seven. Complete waste of time.”

They’d put away the boxes from the takeout food they’d wolved down hungrily and silently, and found seats on Lucifer’s couch, drinks in hand. By now, everyone was exhausted. Chloe thought that even the Celestials were beginning to look a little wilted.

Amenadiel nodded at Maze’s words, reaching for the last cookie in the bowl. “This could go on like that until Judgement Day for all we know.”

Lucifer gave one of his explosive sighs. “Oh, don’t be so negative, Brother. He’s bound to slip up eventually. They all do.”

Trixie, who had been bribed into good behavior by the prospect of spending time with everyone, put a fresh bowl of cookies on the table, still warm from the oven and smelling, well, heavenly. She was the only one whose cheer hadn’d suffered a dent, and, yes, that included Ella. “Why don’t you just ask God?” she asked, looking up at Lucifer. “He must know where Ephraim is, right?”

“I’d like to know the answer to that one myself,” Dan muttered, eyeing the cookies.

“Because, Offspring, Douche, the Almighty is annoyingly hands-off about these things,” Lucifer explained. “He never replies, to anything, and if He did, His answer would be so obscure as to make no sense.” He threw Amenadiel a look. “Stop stuffing your face like that, it’s disgusting.”

“Says the Devil who nearly finished the last bowl all by himself.”

“That was merely to remove temptation from you, Brother.”

“Sure it was.”

Trixie giggled.

“Guys,” Chloe said. “Can we focus?”

The two angels looked at her, Amenadiel with his cookie halfway to his mouth, and Lucifer in the process of reaching for one.

Like the seasoned cop that he was, Dan used the distraction to nab himself a cookie. “Okay, here’s what we have on global happenings possibly to do with attempted takeover of the world as we know it.” He activated the tablet on his knees and proceeded to list a number of political shakeups, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters.

“Wow,” Linda commented when he’d finished.

“That’s all just within the last week?” Ella asked, incredulous.

Dan swallowed down his cookie. “Yep. I’ve charted it against the same respective categories of events taking place during the weeks before, though. No significant change.” He frowned at the tablet on his knees and brushed cookie crumbs off it.

“Just normal human background mayhem, then,” Lucifer commented. “Not very helpful.”

“Not helpful at all.” Chloe looked at the Devil. “Any helpful input from your end?”

Lucifer sighed again. “Been out patrolling, doing my rounds on all likely planes of existence, visiting Hell - boring as ever, and nobody knew anything -; been repelled at the Pearly Gates - no surprise there -; didn’t visit Limbo or Purgatory on grounds of Ephraim definitely not going there if he can help it; didn’t meet any of our siblings, which is a tad disappointing but also quite telling; most importantly, didn’t catch feather nor hair of our misbegotten nephew during all this. So no, nothing helpful from my end, either.”

She gave him a smile that he returned with a tense nod. “So, where do you think he’s hiding?”

“Well,” Lucifer said, taking a sip of his drink, “he’s definitely not on the Celestial plane, or the Infernal one, or on any of the intermediate planes. The risk of being found is too great there, and he doesn’t know his way around. I think he’s hiding here on Earth somewhere. After all, he thinks he’s human, only ‘better’.”

“We still don’t know who fathered him, either,” Amenadiel put in. “It would, of course, be easiest to make the father clean up his own mess, but I guess he’s in hiding, too.”

“He would be,” Lucifer confirmed darkly. “He’s due a right good spanking.”

“Hmm.” Chloe eyed the cookies but decided to remain steadfast. It wasn’t easy, though, especially in view of all these negatives. And the cookies had bits of chocolate in them.

“My money’s on Mike,” Lucifer announced, grabbing a cookie.

Amenadiel made a face. “He’s actually the last one I would suspect. I say no Archangel did this.”

“Oh yeah, because we’re oh so high and mighty? What was that saying about pride and fall?”

“Speak for yourself.”

“I am, obviously, and not only that, but also speaking from experience. However, Mike’s not immune to temptation, Brother. None of us is. Not me, not you, and not bloody Michael, either.”

“About the human mother,” Linda interjected, effectively stopping the angels’ bickering for the moment. “I’ve been making enquiries with my colleagues, as we discussed. Nobody remembers a female patient with the set of problems we would expect from a human mother raising a half-Celestial child alone and probably without any clue. It’s not exactly something I can ask about in any detail, though, let alone of anyone I don’t know personally. It’s quite possible that I’ll miss something. Then again, it’s only been a week, and I haven’t heard back from everyone yet.”

“Thanks.” Chloe looked at the assembled humans and Celestials. “Anyone else have anything?”

There was a pause, then Ella piped up. “Nothing to contribute to the search for the perp, but I do have something. It’s a little gross, though, so…” She looked at Trixie.

Trixie gave her her best “what?” face.

“Autopsy of the murdered woman?” Ella hinted.

“Cool,” Trixie said.

“ _ Not _ cool,” Dan said, while Chloe said, “Come on, Trix,” and Lucifer added, “I believe that’s not a topic adequate to your age, child.”

Chloe looked at him, amazed at that insight.

He gave an elaborate shrug. “According to the Internet, at least.”

“We watched videos about dissecting frogs last week in Science,” Trixie protested. “I’m good.”

“Really?” Lucifer said, grinning. “Well, in that case -”

“No,” Chloe said with finality. “It’s getting late, anyway. Go brush your teeth, Trix. Time for bed.”

“But I’ll miss all the fun,” Trixie pouted.

“Your life will be much more fun later if you avoid getting traumatized now, Trixie,” Linda said reasonably, before Chloe could line up her arguments.

“We’ll do more knife training tomorrow,” Maze put in, who had been eyeing the cookies with distaste all the while. “I’ll need you well and rested for that, li’l human. So, go. No arguments.”

“Fine,” Trixie said, getting up. “Leave some cookies for me!”

“No promises,” Lucifer called after her.

They waited until the door had closed behind her.

“Right,” Ella said. “Before you guys get your hopes up, I don’t have anything to add that we didn’t already know.” She activated her tablet and called up an image.

Chloe craned her neck. This was still her case they were investigating, in a way, even if the ramifications had become a little more widespread.

“I’ve been able to narrow down the murder weapon to no weapon at all,” Ella said, cryptically. “No residue in the area of impact; nothing inorganic that might tell us what kind of weapon was used, like wood or metal. However -”

“Yeah, can you skip to the end, please?” Chloe interjected.

But Ella refused to let her spoil her moment. “However,” she repeated, “I found organic residue. Look at this.” She held up the tablet so everyone could see.

The image had clearly been taken off a microscope, showing three off-white, longish, translucent objects. The scale in the image showed each of them to be a fraction of a millimeter long.

They all regarded the image with varying expression of incomprehension.

“Now, maybe, skip to the end…?” Chloe suggested.

“They’re organic, mostly made up of cutaneous matter, equivalent to hair or epidermis,” Ella hinted.

Chloe shook her head. So did Linda. Amenadiel leaned back, thoughtfully munching a cookie. Maze began twirling her knives. Dan looked around for the open bottle. Lucifer closed his eyes, apparently preparing for a power nap.

Realizing that she was losing her audience, Ella said, “Feathers, man. She was beaten to death with an angel wing.”

That made the angels in the room sit up and take notice.

“I thought Ephraim had already confessed to the murder,” Dan said, confused at their reaction. “This doesn’t really tell us anything new.”

“It does tell us one thing,” Amenadiel said. “There was an argument. A bad one.”

“We don’t usually use our wings to hit people with,” Lucifer added. “Fists are quite enough, and much more precise. Unless things really get heated, or when it’s about life or death.”

“Oh yeah,” Maze breathed, clearly remembering angels battling one another, or possibly Lucifer battling angels, or demons.

“He must have been provoked to lose control completely to do this,” Amenadiel picked up the thread.

“That implies they weren’t alone,” Chloe realized. “I doubt he would have felt sufficiently threatened by the victim, not if what you’re saying is true. If he had wanted to kill her, he could have just snapped her neck.”

“Exactly.” Lucifer gave her a proud smile.

“Well, we know that Father Percy was there,” Dan said.

Lucifer shook his head. “He’s Ephraim’s loyal ally. Besides, he may be annoying, but he’s not enough of a threat. No human would be. Another Celestial must have been there when she died. My money’s on the father.”

“Ephraim’s father, or the father of the unborn child?” Linda put in.

“Could be one and the same,” Lucifer speculated.

“Or the father of the fetus was a normal human,” Linda objected.

“Uh, no, he wasn’t,” Ella said, swiping her tablet to pull up another image. “For one thing, the fetus only died six hours after the mother did. That’s definitely supernatural.” She turned the tablet so everyone could see. “And for another, this is what it looked like.”

The image was enhanced, so the twin wing buds on the fetus’s back were clearly visible.

Before Chloe could process the image and its implications, there was a loud bump against one of the windows of Lucifer’s penthouse, and pandemonium broke loose.

In a flash, she had grabbed her gun from the table in front of her and gone down on one knee, aiming at the window. In the corner of her eye, she saw Dan, who had been seated across from her, doing the same. Linda rolled off the couch and took cover underneath the table while Ella vaulted across the backrest of her section of the couch to hide behind it. Maze, who’d already been armed, threw one of her knives at the window. And the two angels stood, facing the window. Lucifer’s wings were out, spread to his sides, feathers fluffed threateningly and shielding the others in the room.

The window shattered.

Chloe’s trigger finger twitched, but there was nothing to shoot at.

Maze advanced to the window, followed by Amenadiel, while Lucifer found Chloe’s eyes and took two steps back towards her, wings still out protectively.

“It was just a bird,” Maze said into the tense silence. “Stupid thing flew against the window.”

There was a relieved laugh from Ella and a resigned “bloody Hell” from Lucifer, whose fluffed feathers slowly smoothed out again before he tucked his wings away.

_ We need a break, _ Chloe realized.  _ We’re on edge, jumping at shadows. _ “Okay, guys,” she said, “everyone settle down, and let’s make a plan. We can’t go on like this.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

He had never known such pain.

Pain that burned somewhere inside of him, that had no physical cause, and yet still was crippling. Sachiel did not think that he would ever be able to breathe normally again.

He had been crying. That, too, was something that had never happened before. The humans said that tears were blood oozing from an injured soul, or so he had heard. He knew for a fact that this was not true. Souls did not bleed.

But maybe his was. It would explain the pain.

How did the humans do it? How did they survive this pain? They kept dying all the time. How could the ones that lived go on after losing a loved one?

And why was Lucifer, who once had been called Samael, subjecting himself to the possibility of suffering the same thing? He had already found his consort; it was only a matter of time. And Amenadiel, the First Born, also staying here, now, among humans? Were they all mad? Did they not know what was in store for them?

Sachiel wrapped his arms around himself, wishing he could hold Maria again, could feel her breathing, her heart beating again, and wept.

 

* * *

 

To Trixie’s delight, the meeting had turned into an impromptu sleepover.

Chloe envied her daughter’s ability to put all the bad thoughts aside and just focus on the good parts of everything. When she’d come investigating what the ruckus was about (“Maze threw a knife at a bird - don’t worry, she missed it”), she had found the adults in the process of settling down for the night, and for Trixie, nothing could be better than having all her new friends around (except probably flying with Lucifer - Chloe didn’t think anything could top that).

They had agreed that their strength lay in numbers. Ephraim’s behavior could not be predicted, but he had tried to use Chloe against Lucifer once before, and now everyone in the room - the Devil’s friends and relative - was a potential target. They would stay together right here for the night, and pair off in human-celestial teams, starting tomorrow, until the danger from the Nephilim was past.

“Mommy, are we at war?” Trixie whispered as she was snuggled up next to Chloe in Lucifer’s bed.

Chloe could see why her little girl would think so. Like a silent angel statue, Lucifer was standing guard outside on the balcony. In the livingroom, Maze and Amenadiel were watching over Dan, Ella, and Linda. It certainly felt like a siege situation.

Trixie had witnessed people getting shot, had seen the true forms of a demon and of the Devil, had flown with the Devil, had even visited the Infernal plane. She didn’t need to be protected from the truth anymore, Chloe told herself. On the contrary; she deserved to know the truth.

“Kind of,” Chloe whispered back. “A one-man war. But we outnumber him, and we’ve got the Devil, and angel, and a demon on our side.”

She could feel Trixie nod against her shoulder. “I know. I’m not scared.” There was a pause. “Can Lucifer come with me to school tomorrow to guard me?”

Oh yeah, Chloe realized, that was something they’d failed to consider. Trixie would be too easy a target at school, even surrounded by teachers and other pupils. “I think Daddy will agree. You’re not going to school tomorrow,” she decided.

“Awesome!”

 

* * *

 

“It’s time,” Amenadiel said from the passenger seat next to Dan.

“What, again?” Dan said. “Wasn’t it half an hour ago only five minutes ago? Funny how time flies when nothing’s happening.”

When his impromptu partner didn’t reply, he pulled out his phone, typing “Team Danadiel ok” and sending it to the group. A few second later, the other two teams also reported green; Lucifer’s grinning Devil emoji was the last to appear.

“Right,” Dan said. “Everyone’s still alive. So far, so good.” He stared at the church entrance, into the rearview mirror, at his phone, at his silent, brooding partner, and back at the church entrance. “I don’t think he’ll turn up here,” he finally said.

“The priest and Linda’s contacts are the only leads we have,” Amenadiel said unnecessarily. He didn’t divert his eyes from the church they had seen Father Percy walk into almost two hours - and four check-ins - ago.

“Right,” Dan said again. “But, man. You know this guy’s type better than we can hope to. What’s more likely - him coming to have a chat with his clerical friend, or him trying to have a go at Chloe or Trix to get to Lucifer?” It was a rhetorical question. His insides twinged at the thought of his little girl in danger, but he had seen Lucifer in action twice now - if anyone could protect her, it was the Devil.

Amenadiel -  _ an angel, he’s an angel, _ Dan remembered with a start for what felt like the tenth time - finally turned his head to look at him. “I don’t know how a Nephilim’s mind works anymore than you do,” he said. “I’ve never met one before. They’re extremely rare. For all we know, he might be in Disneyland, Florida, selling ice cream and not show his face here again for a decade.”

“But Lucifer said -”

“Lucifer has been wrong before,” Amenadiel stated with no little brotherly resentment, which would have amused Dan at any other time. “And he’s never met a Nephilim, either. We’re all just guessing.”

“Well, we can’t keep doing this for the next decade,” Dan pointed out.

“Agreed. Which is why Lucifer’s plan had better get results soon.”

Dan frowned. “Plan? What plan? He didn’t mention anything.”

“Lucifer always has a plan, especially when it looks like he doesn’t. He’s just terrible about letting anyone else in on it.”

“Huh.” Dan let that percolate in his mind for a bit. “Well, he might let Chloe in on it. She’s special to him.”

Amenadiel threw him a look. “Depends on what kind of plan he’s got.”

Dan sighed. “Well, I hope he’s got something. The BOLO we got out on the guy returned nothing so far. Same goes for the stakeout of his home. This priest surveillance doesn’t seem to pan out, either. If Linda doesn’t hear anything useful, we got nada.”

 

* * *

 

As it turned out, Linda did hear something useful.

“I think I may have identified a witness to the fight between Ephraim and that poor woman,” she told Chloe over the phone. “One of my colleagues is treating her for some very unusual symptoms and sought help from a supervision group I’m in. Chloe, I think she may have been exposed to the sight of angel’s wings.”

“Great! That’s great. Can we meet her?”

“I’ll set something up.”

“Thanks.” Chloe disconnected the call and found herself hugged from behind. “We may have a lead,” she announced to the unseen hugger.

Warm lips nuzzled behind her ear. “Good,” Lucifer purred.

Shivers ran up and down her spine. “Not now, Lucifer.”

“No?”

That voice so close to her ear and the warm touch of his lips there did things to her. But still…. “No. I’m sorry, Lucifer, I’ve got a headache.”

He pulled back, but didn’t remove his arms. “Really?”

She turned around in his arms to smile up at him. “Yeah, really. It’s not a line. I’ve really got a headache.”

His brows drew together in concern. If she knew him, which she was coming to, he was probably wondering whether this was a first sign of failing health, and whether she would soon die a sudden death from inexplicable causes, fragile human that she was, and he was gearing up to panicking.

She stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss on his lips. “Calm down, Lucifer. It’s just a headache, nothing to worry about. Humans get them all the time.”

The worry in his eyes leveled off, to be replaced by a look of determination. “Not on my watch,” he said, and he put his arms around her and his hands on the back of her head, just holding them there.

To her amazement, the pain faded and disappeared within seconds. “Huh,” she commented.

His warm brown eyes regarded her with all the love he was capable of feeling. “Better?”

She smiled at him, unable to stop herself. “Hmhm. Thank you. What did you do?”

He removed his hands from her head and instead used them to hug her close. She could feel his warmth all along her body, his slow, even breaths, could hear the steady beating of his heart. A heart that had beat like this for billions of years. “Used my angelic grace to make things right inside you,” he said softly, his voice rumbling in his chest underneath her ear. “I didn’t want it, but now that I have it, it’s got to be good for something, right?”

“Thank you,” she said again, wondering whether God approved of this use of His grace, whether Lucifer could cure any disease just like this, and trying not to think that this just then had been a minor miracle, and that she was undeserving.

“You’re very welcome,” Lucifer said solemnly. If she’d said this last bit out loud, she realized, he’d disagree. Forcefully.

_ We’re quite a pair, _ she thought, amused.

For a moment, they simply stood, basking in each other’s closeness, and Chloe actually managed to forget about the current situation for about ten seconds.

But those seconds ended eventually. “A witness to the fight between the victim and the Nephilim has turned up in a session with one of Linda’s colleagues,” she said against Lucifer’s neck. “Seems looking at his wings drove her a little mad. I keep forgetting that…” she trailed off, hunting for the right words.

“That you’re special?” Lucifer supplied. “That just looking at angel wings is too much for most humans? That I’m a danger to them, as all angels are?”

“Yeah, all of that,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m beginning to take this for granted, you and me, and Maze, and Amenadiel; you’re all so extraordinary and, well, divine, and here I am, normal, boring me, daring to treat you like you’re family.”

“Which is the greatest gift you could possibly give us. Me, especially.” He rested his cheek on top of her head. “I don’t think you can grasp what it means. For the first time in my very long life, I’m part of a family. I had resigned myself to the fact that I’ll always be shunned and reviled, both by humans and by my own kind, and now, here you are, letting me in like I’m not what I am, like I’ve never been cast out, like I’m actually something that can be….” Now it was his turn to cast about for words.

“That can be loved,” she finished his sentence, voice thick. It always came back to this. “Of course you are. Of course you are.”  _ Stupid Devil, _ she didn’t add. It wasn’t his fault that he had a hard time with this concept. If it was anyone’s fault, it was God’s. “So, why’s Dan immune, then?” she asked, distracting herself from the enormous damage that God had done to his son, and from the lump in her throat.

“Exposure to a divine artifact sometimes causes immunity,” Lucifer said indistinctly, his lips now buried in her hair. “And he did manage to fight the effect of Azrael’s blade. No mean feat, that.”

“He’s always been a bit stubborn,” Chloe said.

Lucifer didn’t comment, apparently content to just continue holding her.

A thought came to her. “When was the last time you slept?” she asked him.

He didn’t reply immediately. “It’s not important,” he finally said.

_ Uh-oh. _ She had learned to recognize Lucifer evading a direct question as the danger sign it usually was. “So, not since this whole thing began, then,” she concluded.

He didn’t deny it, which was admission enough.

She pulled back to look him in the eye. “Are you really okay, Lucifer? You know you’re not quite immortal when you’re so close to me all the time. You need to sleep.”

He gave her a tender smile. “Please don’t worry, I’m fine. You may make me vulnerable, but I’m still the Devil. I can keep doing this for while.”

She peered at him. He didn’t look tired, per se, but she thought she detected a slight sagging of energy. “Alright. How about I don’t worry about you not sleeping, and you don’t worry about me when I get a headache. Deal?”

“I…” He trailed off. “I can’t promise not to worry, my love. That’s not under my control. I’m sorry.”

She nodded, her point made. “See.”

He smiled. “Well played. Very well. I assure you I’m fine. Going without sleep for a week or more isn’t a hardship, even in your treasured presence. Okay?”

He didn’t lie. She knew that. “Yeah, okay.” Reassured, she put her head back on his chest, feeling his arms fold in around her again. There was a slight sound of displaced air she had come to recognize, and a second later, the softly glowing white of Lucifer’s wings enfolded them both.

They stood like that, silent, safe, until Chloe’s phone pinged. “It’s time,” she said.

Sighing, Lucifer pulled out his phone to send their check-in emoji.

 

* * *

 

“He was an angel,” Claudia Warwick repeated for the fourth time. “He had wings. He had wings. I saw them.”

“We know, Claudia,” Chloe said patiently. “You’ve made that bit quite clear to us. Can you tell us what happened?”

“Yes, what happened to make him show his wings?” Lucifer added.

For the first time, Claudia Warwick managed to focus on Lucifer’s face. “I’ve seen you on TV,” she said, as if waking up from a dream. “Are you really the Devil?”

Lucifer managed not to roll his eyes, but Chloe did it for him. Since his “coming out”, as he called it while being unable to keep from grinning like a lunatic, it had been impossible for him to cross the street without being accosted by paparazzi, news crews, reporters, or curious bystanders. He never denied being the Devil, because “I’ve never lied about that and I certainly won’t start now”. However, neither the widespread panic nor the influx of Satanists to LA Chloe kept fearing had occurred so far. Sometimes, living a city where every other person was an aspiring actor really made things easier than expected.

“Yes,” Lucifer said impatiently, “but that’s not important right now. We need to know about the, uh, angel. What happened? What made him reveal himself?”

Claudia stared at him, prompting Lucifer to give her a small smile. “I’m sorry,” she said. Then, visibly dismissing him and the fact that he was Satan, she closed her eyes in concentration. “I was on my way to church when I heard angry voices. There was a - a woman, and two men.” She paused. “I don’t recall what the woman looked like, I’m sorry. She was hiding behind one of the men. The other one was really angry. I think he wanted to harm the woman, and the other man was protecting her. The angry one kept screaming about not allowing anyone to make another. I don’t know what that means.”

Lucifer threw Chloe a look before turning back to Claudia. “This other man, the one who was protecting the woman. What did he look like?”

Again, Claudia had to close her eyes to recall the scene, or, Chloe speculated, possibly to blot out the all-eclipsing memory of the wings. “He was tall, like you. Looked a bit like you, too, only his hair was blond. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes. He was really beautiful. I remember wondering whether that face could be all natural. He tried to be calm, but I could tell that he was agitated as well. Then, suddenly, the angry man sprouted wings.” Her expression dissolved into a rapturous smile. “They were so beautiful.”

“Then what happened?” Chloe asked.

Claudia shuddered. “There was a fight. I think. It’s all a blur, Detective. I can’t recall any details. The wings… They were so beautiful, but then that poor woman fell to the ground, and I… Uh. I don’t really know what happened. The next thing I know is people asking me if I’m okay. I think I passed out.”

 

* * *

 

“Could be Michael,” Lucifer said, hitting “send” on his phone to send the scheduled Devil emoji on its way. “Description’s a bit vague, though. Fits about half a dozen other brothers as well.”

“So, what now?” Chloe asked. “What does that help us?”

“Well, I can now exclude all the non-blond brothers who didn’t do the nasty with that human,” Lucifer said, still looking at his phone. “Come on, Maze,” he muttered. Finally, his phone pinged, and he nodded. “Narrowing down the list of suspects. Isn’t that how it works?” He gave her a smile.

“So, how many potential suspects are there now, then?”

“Oh, about two dozen, just counting the Archangels. And Dad’s little army, a veritable litter of lesser angels, many of whom I never met and probably don’t even know about,” he said cheerfully. “And before you say it, my love, no, it doesn’t really help. But maybe this will.”

He opened the passenger door of Chloe’s car and waved at someone. “You can come out, I’ve seen you. Come on, come on out!”

Chloe’s hand went for her gun. “Trixie, stay down,” she said urgently to her daughter in the back seat.  _ If that’s Ephraim, I’m gonna kill him. Both of them. _

It wasn’t, though. The guy Lucifer was talking to turned out to be a small-scale reporter, who suddenly found himself receiving an exclusive interview with the Devil Himself, during which Lucifer left out no opportunity to point out how handsome, charming, rich, successful, virile, powerful, and overall awesome he was.

“What are you doing?” Chloe whispered at him while the reporter switched memory cards.

Lucifer grinned at her. “What does it look like? I’m giving an interview. Uh, where will you publish this to again?” he asked the reporter.

The red-faced reporter mentioned a website so obscure that neither Chloe nor Lucifer had ever heard of it.

The Devil snorted. “Oh no, that won’t do at all. How about I give you a guest spot in all the major trades for this bit of investigative brilliance? In exchange, you will promise me not to change or leave out a single word I said.” He grinned. “And don’t forget with whom you made this deal.”

 

* * *

 

It took calling in a few devilish IOUs, but by evening, every trade worth anything had published “Interview With The Devil - Who Or What Is Satan Really?”, and Lucifer couldn’t stop grinning.

“You’re poking the bear,” Chloe eventually realized.

She was rewarded with a brilliant smile. “I am indeed. If this doesn’t draw Ephraim out, nothing will.”

“Right.” She returned his smile. “Let’s hope it does something, then. We’re running out of options.”

 

* * *

 

It did do something; just not what they were expecting.

The latest check-ins had just rolled in (Dan’s had been accompanied by BORING in all-caps, which Chloe supposed was bad but still better than a distress call), when there was a ding, and the elevator doors opened.

No one was supposed to come in here right now. Chloe pulled her gun, Trixie immediately took cover behind the bar, and Lucifer walked towards the elevator to confront the intruder, all in a smooth, choreographed series of movements that Chloe found both reassuring and tragic.

The figure standing silhouetted against the orange back-lighting of the elevator was unfamiliar to her, but Lucifer made a sound that was half gasp and half laugh.

“Sachiel!” he said, sounding delighted. “What the hell are you doing here? Haven’t seen you in literal ages, Brother!”

“Hello, Lucifer,” the newcomer said. There was no doubt who he was - tall, like the two angels of Chloe’s acquaintance, blond, and, yes, beautiful, like the witness had described him. His eyes were the same dark brown as Lucifer’s, and she thought she saw some family resemblance in the jawline. “I think you know why I’m here.”

Chloe lowered her gun. For one thing, it wouldn’t do any good against an angel, and for another, this Sachiel guy didn’t sound threatening. If anything, an air of grief seemed to surround him, almost muting him.

Lucifer seemed to notice it, too. “What happened, Sachiel? Oh, I’m sorry, Chloe, this is my younger brother Sachiel. Sach, this is Detective Chloe Decker, my, uh -”

“Consort,” Chloe supplied, putting away her gun and offering her hand.

This seemed to touch the other angel deeply. “Oh, Luci,” he said, looking at Chloe and taking her hand in his. “Then it is true.” He forced a smile. “I am pleased to meet you, Chloe.”

She returned his smile cautiously, glad that prolonged exposure to the Devil’s charm had apparently made her immune to any other angel’s. “Likewise. I must admit that I have heard nothing about you.”

“Nothing except for the results of your doings here, Brother,” Lucifer put in, gesturing towards the couch. “Looks like you’re in a lot of trouble with Dad.”

Sachiel followed the unspoken invitation and sat down. “Yes, I suppose I am,” he said, leaning back with an unmistakable air of exhaustion. “Honestly, I couldn’t care less about what Father thinks of me right now.”

Lucifer threw Chloe a look, then walked over to the bar to retrieve a bottle and some glasses. “How unusually rebellious of you, Sach. What happened?” he asked again.

Chloe hovered, undecided, knowing that she should go and give the two angels some privacy to catch up. But then again, Lucifer was supposed to guard her and Trixie, so...

And speaking of Trixie. “Honey, you can come out now,” she said.

Her daughter’s dark head appeared above the bar. “It’s another one of Lucifer’s brothers, Mommy,” she whispered excitedly. “I was going to stay here and -” She trailed off, apparently realizing what she’d been about to confess.

_ Lucifer’s really beginning to rub off on her, _ Chloe thought. “No! Listening in on others isn’t good, Monkey. You’re coming out of there right now.”

Trixie blinked remorsefully. “Okay, Mommy.”

Chloe turned, facing the two angels on the couch. Lucifer was wearing an impressed grin while Sachiel regarded Trixie with open curiosity. “Sorry about that,” she said. “This is my daughter Trixie, who will go to bed without any dessert tonight.”

“Aw, Mommy!” Trixie protested.

“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” Lucifer said at the same time.

They paused, looking at each other, the little conspirators.

Sachiel used the brief silence to ask, “Luci, is she yours?”

He was met with three stares, each one different.

“No, no, he didn’t have anything to do with her,” Chloe said. “I only met him about one and a half years ago.”

“I wish I was,” Trixie muttered.

“I would never be so irresponsible,” Lucifer butted in. “That sort of thing never ends well.” He gave his brother a look. “As I’m sure you can attest.”

Chloe bit her lip but didn’t say anything. She’d known it was only a stupid fantasy. She had. Nothing more than vague ideas and an enhanced image of a fetus Nephilim with tiny little wing buds on his tiny little back. Nothing more than that.

Sachiel sighed, unaware of Chloe’s conflict. “Ephraim is my fault, and I accept full responsibility,” he said. “I know that I should have -” He fell silent as his throat audibly closed up. Face working, he raised a hand, not saying anything. Then, “I’m sorry.” He took a careful breath. To Chloe’s amazement, tears were glistening in his dark eyes. “I can’t seem to stop doing this, ever since -” He choked up again.

Chloe threw Lucifer a look, only to find an look of surprise mixed with compassion on his expressive face. “You heard the siren call of the humans,” he said softly, “and you fell into their trap.”

Wordlessly, Sachiel nodded.

“When was that?” Lucifer asked softly.

Sachiel wiped a hand across his face. “Fifty years ago, give or take,” he said. “I had come down here on an errand, and I was curious.” He smiled sadly. “I was only going to stay for a day, have a proper look around for once, then leave again. Just a single Earth day. Mere seconds, in Heaven. But that’s all it took.”

This was clearly becoming very personal. Chloe caught Lucifer’s gaze.  _ Maybe I should go, _ she mouthed at him, pointing towards the guest room.

Lucifer shrugged his eyebrows at her, and she remembered how blasé he was about privacy. Maybe that wasn’t a Lucifer trait, but a Celestial one. Maybe there weren’t any doors in the Silver City, either. Maze certainly had no personal boundaries, and Amenadiel had never commented on the lack of doors in Lux.

Sachiel didn’t seem to mind her presence, and, yes, she was curious, too, so she settled on one of the bar stools, holding Trixie close who kept watching, wide-eyed.

“And…?” Lucifer prompted, his full attention back on his brother.

“And I met her,” Sachiel went on. “Her name was Clara. She was like nothing I’d ever seen before, though I’ve met quite a few humans in my time. I… couldn’t stay away.” He looked at Lucifer. “Brother, I apologize for all the things I thought about you back then. I’m no better than you. If anything, I’m less worthy of our Father’s love, because I walked into this with full knowledge of the consequences. And I am so much older than you were.”

Lucifer made a dismissing motion with one hand. “That’s old news, Sach. I’m over it.”

But Chloe, who knew all his tells by now, could see that he was pleased.

“Be that as it may,” Sachiel went on, “I stayed with Clara for a year and a day, thinking that this was my new home, wishing for a family on Earth. But it was an illusion. She never learned about my true nature - I didn’t dare tell her for fear of driving her mad. Nothing solid can grow on such a treacherous foundation. When I learned that she was with my child, I… fled. Like a coward. I never saw her again. It is my eternal shame.”

There was a pause. Chloe could see Lucifer’s expression darken, assume his punisher look. But his eyes remained black. “If you’ve come here for punishment, Brother -”

“No!” Sachiel said. “No, Luci. That’s not the reason. My guilt is my punishment, until Father decides otherwise. I’m here for something else. But my tale is not yet finished.”

Belatedly, Lucifer filled two glasses and held one up in invitation. “Go on, then.”

Sachiel took it gratefully, rolling it between his hands. “I soon found I could not stay in the Silver City, thinking that my guilt was a blight that all could see. Rather than risk Father’s wrath, I returned to Earth, content to remain in eternal exile. I wandered all her lands. Like a shadow, weighed down by my shame, I passed through many humans’ lives. And finally -” He choked up again and took a sip of his drink to cover it.

Lucifer merely sat, waiting patiently, which Chloe thought was a bit out of character for him, but he had surprised her before. Maybe this was just a side to him she hadn’t encountered yet - the gentle, sympathetic older brother.

“Finally,” Sachiel went on, “I met Maria. She was so much like my Clara that I was powerless against her.” Tears once again lined his lashes, but his voice remained steady. “I vowed to use this second chance to undo all my past mistakes. I took my time, truly came to know her, let her come to know me, and finally, I dared to reveal myself to her.”

Lucifer took a breath, keeping his attention on his brother.

“She took it well.” Sachiel’s voice was beginning to break, despite his obvious efforts. “She was wonderful, my consort in all but name, and we were planning on actually getting married. Our love was so great that I risked the birth of another Nephilim. I would have stayed, this time, to care for him. I swear I would have.” A tear was running down his face. He paused, downing his drink. “What I only realized after a while was that her resemblance to Clara was hereditary. Maria was Clara’s daughter, which was how Ephraim knew her. One day, I finally met my offspring, Maria’s half-brother. He didn’t know about his parentage, didn’t believe we even exist, so I hesitated to claim him, and that hesitation cost me Maria’s life.” His voice broke on the last word.

“Ephraim knew that Maria was pregnant with your spawn,” Lucifer went on for him. “She would have no reason to keep this knowledge from him. And, being the power-mad bugger that he is, he decided to nip the possible competition in the bud, as it were.”

Sachiel nodded, his face now streaked with tears. “He killed her,” he forced out. “I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t save her. He is quite mad, and he has this priest friend who prevented me from keeping her soul here. By the time I reached her, it was too l..-” He dropped the empty glass and buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed indistinctly. “I’m sorry. It keeps happening. I can’t -”

“It’s alright, Brother,” Lucifer said, very gently. “Come here.” He held out one arm.

Sachiel blinked wetly at him, then crossed the small distance on the couch between them and practically melted into Lucifer’s arms.

For a long moment, the Devil held his distraught brother, then he began to move his arms up and down Sachiel’s back, obviously avoiding the invisible roots of the angel’s wings. Finally, with a sigh from Sachiel, his wings materialized, half-folded, trembling, dark brown feathers badly ruffled where they sprouted on his back, and Lucifer immediately and confidently carded his hands through the disheveled feathers near the roots of the wings.

Chloe watched, enraptured, as Lucifer’s fingers curled around the pinions on both wings at the same time, pulling his hands down along them, aligning them, then slipping his fingers into the downs, back out and around the next pinion, down and back into the downs beneath, again and again and again; slow, steady, soothing even from a distance.

Sachiel allowed his wings to droop, his head to rest on Lucifer’s shoulder, his eyes to drift closed. He had stopped sobbing almost as soon as Lucifer began grooming him and lay quietly now. The only sound in the penthouse was the soft rustling of feathers and a low humming that Chloe eventually realized came from Lucifer; a simple melody, repeated over and over, calming like the motions of his hands in his brother’s feathers.

Chloe would have left now. Surely, this was not for human eyes. But whatever magic Lucifer was working was affecting her, too. She didn’t feel uncomfortable or unwanted here. Besides, he was showing her how it was done, however inadvertently, and she wanted to learn.

Next to her, Trixie was moving her hands and fingers, imitating Lucifer; clearly on the same page.

Lucifer had closed his eyes as well; his face was smooth, his expression calm. He obviously was enjoying this almost as much as his brother was.  _ He hasn’t done this in ages, _ Chloe realized,  _ and he needs to do it almost as much as he needs having it done for him. _ She smiled sadly. Angels clearly weren’t solitary creatures. Sending them into exile and therefore condemning them to be alone truly was a cruel form of punishment.

Finally, Sachiel moved out of Lucifer’s arms and tucked his wings away, causing Lucifer to stop humming.

“Better?” Lucifer said softly.

Sachiel nodded. “Thank you, Brother. I’ve missed this.”

“I know.”

They shared a look, then Sachiel’s expression became urgent.

“Luci, I’ve come to warn you.”

“No need,” Lucifer said. “We already know about Ephraim. We’re taking every precaution.”

“Not about Ephraim.” He turned his head, looking at Chloe, then back at Lucifer. “Your consort. You will lose her one day, and you will suffer like I am suffering. If it’s not too late, save yourself.”

“I know,” Lucifer said again. “Thanks for the warning, Brother, but I’m well aware of what I’m facing. Dad was already kind enough to give me a taste.” He smiled the barest shadow of his usual smile. “Besides, it’s way too late. Also, I’m very happy to be stuck in this trap.”

“I see.” He looked at his older brother with a strange smile, then raised his hands. “Do you want me to…” He trailed off.

Lucifer shook his head. “Thanks, no need. My family’s taking excellent care of me.”

Chloe looked down to hide the stinging in her eyes. She was a tough cop, dammit.

“Now,” Lucifer said, letting the mellow mood slide off him. “Will you help us clean up your mess, Sach?” His tone of voice made it clear that saying no wasn’t an option.

Sachiel seemed to realize this, because he sighed deeply. “It is high time I did. Yes. You can count on me, Brother.”


	4. Chapter 4

 

He stood in front of the full-length mirror, wings out, adjusting his grip on the hilt of his sword and turning his shoulders just so. Sunlight slanted into the dingy hotel room, glinting on the naked sword blade and bathing his wings in a warm glow, and he nodded in approval. His wound had finally healed; he was strong enough. He was radiant again, and beautiful.

Soon.

Lovingly, he ran his hand over the runes embedded in the blade, making them light up with a soft glow. Perfect.

The decoy was in place. Soon he would make his move, and like the Archangel Michael, he would slay the Devil with this very blade that was imbued with Divinity. After that, there would be no more hiding for him. He’d be hailed as the savior he was for ridding the world of evil, and he would finally take his rightful place on the throne of Earth.

Didn’t he have the wings to prove how blessed he was? Wasn’t he unique among mankind? Didn’t he look just like the many depiction of Saint Michael as he raised his weapon to bring it down upon the Devil under his feet?

He raised the blade, turning a bit more, gazing at his reflection.

_ Oh yes. That will teach the arrogant excuse for an angel not to flaunt himself before all the world while I am forced to hide.... _

 

* * *

 

“We got something,” Dan said over the phone.

“Thank God,” Chloe said without thinking.

Lucifer, next to her on the couch, drink in hand, sighed his most put-upon sigh.

_ Sorry, _ she mouthed at him. “What is it, Dan?” she said, putting her phone on speaker.

“Credit card was used earlier today, owner Ephraim Vasquez. Small hotel a little outside of LA. More of a hovel, apparently; the bill’s only 120 bucks for three nights.”

“Right,” Lucifer said, straightening his shoulders. “Seems our future supreme ruler of the world is really roughing it. Time to evict him permanently.”

“I’m texting you the address now,” Dan’s tinny voice said. “Rendezvous there?”

Chloe thought fast. “I’d rather keep Trixie, Linda, and Ella out of the line of fire, and maybe I shouldn’t be there, either.”

Lucifer turned to look at her. “I’m not leaving you alone, Chloe.”

“Amenadiel or Maze can guard us,” she pointed out. “We wouldn’t be undefended. And you’re much more effective when you’re immortal.”

He couldn’t contest that, but she could see from the way his jaw set that he wasn’t a happy Devil. “It could be a ploy,” he pointed out, “a ruse to lure me away from you on a wild goose chase, leaving you and three other defenseless humans to be guarded by just one Celestial in the process. That’s much better odds for him. Divide and conquer. It’s what I would do in his place.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “But you’ve existed for billions of years and are much more cunning than a clueless, insane half angel barely fifty years old can hope to be. He probably just slipped up using his credit card.”

His gaze had softened with her touch, but he wasn’t relenting. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m not taking the risk.”

“So,” Dan’s voice said over the speaker, “what’s the plan, then?”

“Send Maze to check it out,” Lucifer said. “She can make him without getting noticed. And then, if he’s really there, we’re all going in.”

“All of us?” Chloe objected. “What about Trixie?”

Lucifer looked at her little monkey, who had been following the conversation like a tennis match. “I…” He fell silent.

“No way am I taking her into a battle situation, Lucifer,” Chloe said firmly. “I don’t care what moves Maze has taught her.”

“But, Mommy,” Trixie not quite pouted, “I know enough to defend myself. I can. Honest.”

Chloe gave her a look. “Yeah, I know about the demon knife Maze gave you for your birthday behind my back.”

Trixie’s sullen expression dissolved into a happy smile. “It’s so cool! Maze says that it can hurt a Nephilim. It can even hurt Lucifer!” She reached down to pull out a small, curved knife with an unmistakable hell-forged sheen to its blade.

Lucifer grinned. “Indeed it can, Spawn.” He looked at Chloe. “See? Your daughter is protected, and better than the charming guys and gals in their bulletproof vests at that. She, at least, can draw blood.”

Chloe didn’t know whether to glare or roll her eyes at him. “Lucifer, she’s a child. Human children aren’t like baby demons who come fighting out their mother’s womb. I can’t believe I have to even point this out. She’s staying out of it, and that’s final.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Dan’s voice cut in. “We can hide her at my parents’, or with your mother, Chloe.”

Lucifer looked at the phone in Chloe’s hand like it had sprouted horns and a tail. “And what, pray tell, will any of these fine elderly folk do about it if Ephraim decides to come for your offspring?”

“How would he even know where she is?” Chloe countered.

“Chloe,  _ he can travel planes of existence! _ ” Lucifer nearly shouted, his eyes briefly flickering red. “He could be standing  _ right here _ , next to us, on another plane, and we’d never bloody know! All he’d have to do is follow the child to her hideout.” He took a breath. “You’ve been on the Infernal plane, Chloe, you  _ know _ how it works.”

_ He’s right, _ Chloe realized, but that didn’t shock her as much as his outburst did. The Devil was beginning to lose his temper, which was bad news for everyone. “Alright,” she said soothingly, “I get it.”

He sighed, shoulders slumping a little. For the first time, Chloe found that he looked tired, and no wonder. It had been more than two weeks now since their encounter with the Nephilim, and Lucifer hadn’t slept at all, constantly vigilant, constantly watching over her and Trixie. “We have to keep everyone together, there’s no way around it,” he said, sounding calmer. “While Maze is out scouting, everybody else should be here where Amenadiel and I can guard you. In fact…” He trailed off and folded his hands in prayer, closing his eyes.

“I don’t like it at all,” Dan’s voice said from Chloe’s phone. “You don’t take a child into a war zone. You just don’t.”

“Are you calling Sachiel?” Trixie asked Lucifer with her usual unusual insight.

The Devil opened his eyes and gave her a smile. “Yes. High time he did something useful. He’s on his way now.”

“Good,” Trixie approved. “I like him.”

“That’s settled, then,” Lucifer said, amused. “Now all we have to do is -”

He broke off when a very familiar and very dreaded sound occurred, that of dimensions briefly merging. What happened next was over so fast that Chloe could only begin to process it later.

With a roar that sounded barely human and much more like the Devil he was, Lucifer threw himself onto the figure that was emerging from the portal, tackling it and grappling it with both arms. The next second, his roar cut off in a pained choke.

With utter horror, Chloe saw the glinting, blood-stained metal of a sword blade stick out from Lucifer’s back.

He staggered back, but Ephraim gathered forward to stay close, screaming, “Die, Devil! Die!” His hand was still on the sword hilt, and with a mighty effort he twisted the blade that had speared Lucifer clean through, round and round again.

Lucifer made a sound of agony that Chloe would never forget until her dying day.

Somehow, her firearm was in her hand; without thinking she emptied the whole clip into the Nephilim. “Dan!” she yelled into her phone as soon as the clip was empty. “We’ve got a situation!” Not waiting to see whether her bullets had had any effect, she grabbed Trixie to drag her to safety behind the bar. “Call Maze!”

When she peered over the bar counter, Lucifer, amazingly still on his feet, had shifted into his Devil form. His wings were out, lashing at Ephraim, the razor-sharp primaries slashing the Nephilim, who had also summoned his wings, gathering back to get out of range of Lucifer’s wings. Chloe’s shots clearly had achieved precisely nothing.

The sword was still in Lucifer, stuck nearly to the hilt in his upper abdomen. Even as his wings were busy striking at the Nephilim, both his red Devil’s hands were clutching at it, trying to pull it out. Though he had shifted, Chloe realized that he wouldn’t be able to heal with the thing inside him. Still he remained standing, even gathered forward, staggering after Ephraim to keep in range, his wings continuing to slash hard at the Nephilim, drawing blood with nearly every strike, his pristine white feathers quickly turning red.

Ephraim, though, was getting in some hits as well. His constant shrieks of “die, Devil!” were almost drowned out by the sounds of flapping wings and things smashing and falling to the ground.

Within seconds, the interior of Lucifer’s penthouse had turned into a shattered, blood-spattered battlefield. There wasn’t enough room for either pair of wings to move without hitting something - the couch, the bar, the lamps, even the bottles on the wall behind the bar.

“Mommy!” Trixie said urgently, holding her knife out to Chloe. “Do something! He’s killing Lucifer!”

A window shattered with the impact of a wing.

Then Sachiel was there seemingly out of nowhere, grabbing Ephraim from behind and closing his arm around his son’s neck in a chokehold. The Nephilim’s shrieks abruptly cut off, and he bucked wildly, trying to shake off his assailant. Sachiel began to drag him back towards the balcony while Lucifer, still clutching the sword hilt protruding from his abdomen with both hands, slowly fell to his knees, breathing in fast, shallow gasps.

But before Sachiel could succeed in immobilizing his son’s wings, Ephraim lashed out one final time. The primaries cut across Lucifer’s chest, slicing through his shirt and deep into flesh. Lucifer cried out breathlessly and began to topple forward.

Chloe reached him just in time to keep him from falling onto the sword hilt.

His wild eyes found hers. “Get it out,” he gasped, looking up at her from where he half sat, half knelt, doubled over, clearly unable to do it himself.

Then Maze shot out of the staircase entrance like a demon out of Hell, took one look around, and made straight for Ephraim with a blood-curdling yell, knives in both hands.

Chloe ducked her head away from the impending carnage, focusing on Lucifer instead. Despite his plea, her training kept telling her that it was a bad idea to pull the blade out. It was stopping the bleeding. “I’m not sure -” she began.

“Out,” he interrupted her, barely able to form the word, looking at her pleadingly out of his Devil’s eyes. “Out.”

When she looked at the blade again, she realized what was wrong. There were strange symbols engraved in it, glowing softly. The sword was clearly hurting him more than a normal blade should, especially now that he had shifted.

“Okay,” she said, steadying herself, looking down at his hands clutching the hilt. “Okay. But you must let go first. Let go, Lucifer.”

Gently, she pried his long, red fingers off the sword hilt, seeing them tremble as he balled them into fists to keep from following his instincts and grabbing the hilt again.

“Hurry,” he forced out. “It burns.”

“Oh God,” Chloe gasped, folding her own fingers around the hilt and tightening her two-handed grip. She tried to steel herself for what was coming. This was going to _hurt._ _She_ was going to hurt him. She realized that she was hyperventilating, but she couldn’t stop panting. _Get it over with quickly, Decker._ “Alright.” Her voice sounded alien to her ears. “Here goes.”

Bracing her legs for leverage, she yanked at the sword with everything she had, forcing a terrible choked gasp from Lucifer.

The blade hadn’t budged an inch.

“I can’t,” she said tremulously, “I’m sorry, I can’t.” It was like his body was gripping the blade, holding it fast. Then she realized what was wrong. “Lucifer,” she said urgently, “shift back. You healed around the blade, and now it’s stuck inside you. Shift back, or I won’t be able to get it out.”  _ Shift back, so I can cut you right open again.  _ She tilted her head, trying to catch his unfocused red gaze. “Lucifer? Can you hear me? You need to shift back, honey.”

He stared at her, mouth half open, breathing in short, labored gasps, and for a moment, Chloe was afraid that he was at last too out of it to understand her, that his need to remain in this form to protect himself was overriding his reason. But finally, his human glamour reasserted itself, his skin regaining its familiar hue and fullness - a mixed blessing, because now Chloe could clearly see the ravages of his injuries in his ashen face. She hoped she’d never have to see that look on him ever again.

“Let me do it,” a voice said behind her.

Turning, she saw Amenadiel going down on his knees next to her.

“I’ll do it,” the angel repeated. “He doesn’t need to remember you hurting him like this, and we do have a history.”

Relief and gratefulness flooded her.  _ With pleasure _ , she didn’t say, because there was nothing pleasurable about any of this.  _ Gladly,  _ she didn’t say either, for similar reasons. Instead, she wordlessly let go of the sword hilt and moved aside to give Amenadiel room.

“Alright, Luci,” he said soothingly, gripping the hilt, “take a deep breath and let it out slowly, okay?”

Chloe realized she couldn’t watch. Casting about for something to distract her, she found Dan and Maze on the balcony, with Sachiel and Ephraim nowhere in evidence. Distantly, she hoped that Sachiel had managed to get his son away before Maze eviscerated him. At the same time, a part of her hoped not.

Then Lucifer gave a choked sob and one wing snapped forward, lashing out. Amenadiel barely managed to duck under it.

“Stop that, Luci, I’m only trying to help.”

Chloe turned back to find Lucifer’s eyes glowing red, crazed with the pain. Instinctively, she reached out to him, touching his shoulder, his neck, and finally his face. His eyes flicked to her, and to her relief, the fire in them faded.

Carefully, she scooted close to him on her knees, wrapped both arms around his head to gently hug him close, telling him over and over to calm down, to be still, that it’d hurt less if he didn’t move. Slowly, his shivering wings folded and finally came to rest on his back, so she could put an arm around the warm, soft things that could inflict so much damage and hold them close to his body, trying to immobilize them without making him feel trapped. Her other arm still was cradling his head against her, feeling the heat of his skin against the side of her face, fingers gently stroking him, calming him.

Finally, he went still in her arms. “Go ahead,” she whispered to Amenadiel, closing her eyes.

There was a pause as the angel gathered himself. Then she could feel the shock of it go through Lucifer, his whole body briefly seizing in pain; could hear him make a gagging noise as the blade left his body; could hear the clatter of the metal against the stone floor as Amenadiel dropped it.

Lucifer drew a shuddering breath and slowly exhaled on a keening moan that tore at Chloe’s insides before it cut off in a wet cough.

She held his head in both her arms now. “It’s over, Lucifer” she said, her lips touching his hair, “it’s over, it’s out. You can shift back now, honey.” Her hand brushed through his hair, into the strands, onto the scalp beneath. “Shift back, it’ll hurt less that way. Heal yourself. Go ahead, it’s okay.”

His wings were slowly spreading again, drawing forward and in around them, enfolding them both, feathers puffed like a freezing bird’s. Then Chloe could feel his hair disappear and his warm naked Devil’s skin beneath her lips, and she kissed him there over and over again, tears of relief running down her face.

As she held him, she could hear conversation going on beyond the cocoon of Lucifer’s wings. She half listened, but her focus remained on Lucifer, his soft panting breaths, the heat of his skin, the slight shivers that kept traveling through him.

“Where did he take him?” That was Dan. Chloe idly wondered when and how he’d gotten here.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Amenadiel. “Where did he get  _ this?” _

_ None of it matters right now, _ she thought. What mattered was her wounded Devil. Suddenly, a stab of rage went through her. She raised her head from Lucifer’s while hugging him closer to her. “Guys, we’ve got a man down. A little help here?”

She still couldn’t see anything except for the blood-spattered white of Lucifer’s wings, but she heard steps approaching.

“We figured we’d let you calm him down first before we risked getting our heads chopped off,” Dan’s voice explained.

“Will you lot please stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” Lucifer growled against Chloe’s neck.

She kissed him again, a relieved laugh bursting out of her. If he was capable of making quips, he clearly wasn’t dying anymore.

Trixie chose that moment to insinuate herself underneath Lucifer’s wings to join in the cuddle, and Chloe hugged her with her free arm. There would be extra chocolate cake and lots and lots of family bonding time in her little monkey’s future. And, considering what she’d just witnessed, probably a session or two with Linda.

Finally, they managed to make Lucifer move his wings aside and vanish them, but he didn’t let go of Chloe or get up from his position huddled on the floor despite much coaxing, and finally, Amenadiel was obliged to lift him bodily and deposit him on his bed, Chloe and Trixie trailing behind.

Chloe hovered, watching the Devil curl up on his side while Amenadiel removed his shoes. Back in the livingroom, Maze was prowling, kicking shards and metal things around from the sound of it, probably working off her adrenaline. She could hear Dan’s and Linda’s voices. Ella’s, too. Apparently, everyone was here.

For her part, Chloe only felt bone-deep exhaustion. As soon as they were alone, she was so going to crawl into the bed with her Devil and hold him and cuddle him until they both felt okay again.

But no. They were still at war as long as Ephraim’s status wasn’t clear. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down just yet, not while Lucifer was down.

“Leave me alone,” Lucifer was growling, weakly kicking out at his brother with a red, naked foot.

Said brother easily blocked the kick with his upper arm, shaking his head in long-suffering exasperation. “You’re still bleeding, Luci,” the older angel said reasonably. “Let me do something about it, or you’ll ruin your bedding.”

“Don’t care,” came the sullen response. “‘M tired. Lemme sleep.”

“You can go to sleep in a minute.” Amenadiel reached one hand behind himself, seemingly brushing along his shoulder, and when he pulled it back, he was holding a single down feather. “Roll over, Luci. We’ve got to close the wound in your guts, and that’s a bad cut you’ve got there in your chest, too.”

Chloe watched, awestruck, as Amenadiel placed the feather - one of his, she realized - low on Lucifer’s sternum. A light appeared around the feather. No. The  _ feather _ turned into the light. It got brighter and brighter until she had to avert her eyes.

When she could look again, all wounds were healed, Lucifer’s chest and abdomen smooth and whole again. The feather, though, had disappeared.

“That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” Amenadiel said gently, getting up and pulling the duvet over his younger brother. “Now you can rest as long as you like.”

Lucifer muttered something that might or might not be “thank you”. His dark red eyes had closed; his breathing was beginning to slow.

Amenadiel looked at Chloe, gesturing at Lucifer in an ‘over to you’ motion.

“Wait,” she said, “what about Ephraim?”

Amenadiel shrugged. “Sachiel has him. He’s taking care of the problem; otherwise he’ll really be in trouble, and he knows it.”

She still didn’t allow herself to relax. “So, it’s really over?”

“For now.” Amenadiel looked at the destroyed penthouse, then picked up the sword he had leaned against one wall of Lucifer’s bedroom. “This is imbued with powerful runes, which is why he could inflict so much damage. But we still won this battle, and would-be Devil Slayer has lost his weapon. Without it, he doesn’t stand a chance. He should have gotten the message, and this stupid war should be over.”

 

* * *

 

Since everyone was here anyway, they had decided to clean up as best as they could. Chloe was glad. Despite Amenadiel’s assurance, she still couldn’t allow herself to believe that the crisis truly was past. Two weeks of constantly being on edge had apparently taken its toll on her, so she was happy to take comfort in the presence of her friends.

When she looked in on Lucifer a bit later, though, she realized that Amenadiel’s impulse had been right, and that her place was with the Devil, not with the cleaning crew.

Lucifer lay on his side with his arms wrapped around himself in a tight self-hug, one hand clutching the duvet, his face buried in a pillow with one wing covering his head, fairly radiating a silent, lonely distress signal that resonated with her. To hell with waiting until everyone had gone. To hell with pitching in with the straightening out of his penthouse. Her place was here.

Or maybe….?

Just as she was beginning to doubt herself, Amenadiel happened to look at her from across the piano. Putting down the waste bag he had been filling with the wreckage of Lucifer’s home, he came over to her.

“Why aren’t you in there with him, Chloe?” he asked softly. “He needs you.”

She nodded. “I was just… I…” She hesitated. “I guess I was thinking that maybe he needs another Celestial more than me, someone who knows what to do.”

Amenadiel’s voice echoed the incomprehension on his face. “What makes you think that?”

“I uh… I saw him with Sachiel the other day, how he comforted him, and I realized… I mean, it’s not the first time that I realized this, but I realized that humans and angels are not the same, and that what works to comfort us might not work with you guys, and that I may not really know what I need to do to help him.” She blushed. “I know it sounds stupid. It even sounded stupid in my head.”

Amenadiel, however, didn’t seem to think that it sounded stupid. “I see. Well, we’re not that different. We like cuddling just as much as you seem to. We just also use our wings when we do it.”

She felt vindicated and crushed at the same time. “I don’t have wings, obviously, so that’s one thing that I can’t give him.”

“You don’t need to. Just let him use his, and let him hold you.” He gave a strange little smile. “You might try singing to him. Or at least talking. There’s always music somewhere in Heaven, and hearing a voice singing may keep him from thinking that he’s back in Hell.”

_ Not much singing in Hell, I suppose, _ she thought. “Makes sense.” Well, she’d sung to Trixie often when she was smaller, so… “Okay, I’ll try that. Thank you.”

Amenadiel nodded, gave her a smile, and walked back to join the others.

Kicking off her shoes, she climbed into the bed and crawled in with Lucifer, who blinked his eyes open when the bed dipped, smiling faintly.

“How are you feeling?” she whispered. And, because she still couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe she was disturbing his rest, she added, “Would you rather be alone?”

By way of response, he uncurled himself, lifting his arms away from his torso and his wing away from his head, and held one arm out to her.

Relieved, she arranged herself as close to him as she could, feeling his arms go around her and pull her in even closer. “Hmm. This is better,” he muttered, his lips brushing against her neck briefly before snuggling in.

She put both her arms around his head, her hands in his hair and on his face, stroking him tenderly. “You’re cold,” she realized as she felt his skin against hers lacking its usual inhuman heat. His hands, too, were cold were they lay against her sides.

“Little bit,” he replied, but then a full-body shiver belied his words. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the feathers of the wings that covered them puff, making it look much thicker than it was.

Again, Chloe felt inadequate. Her tepid human body wouldn’t be enough to give him the warmth he needed, surely. But what to do about it?

Salvation came in the shape of Trixie, who peered into the room at that moment, a look of longing on her face.

It took a bit of explaining and a bit of promising her that just this once she’d be welcome in Lucifer’s bed, but finally, the little girl came back, carrying three hot water bottles.

“Careful, Mommy, they’re really hot,” she said, dumping her burden on the bed.

“That’s perfect, thank you.” A nod, and Trixie, smiling like the sun, climbed onto the bed and under the duvet on Lucifer’s other side.

One bottle placed against Lucifer’s abdomen, one in the backs of his knees, and the third on his nape, the duvet tucked around him and his wings covering him, and finally, she could feel him relax in the growing warmth as his body began to soak up the heat.

She went back to stroking his face, because she knew he loved it so, and he needed all the reassurance he could get. Singing to him came naturally at this point.

She fully expected him to make a scathing remark to conserve his dignity, but instead, he exhaled on a sustained humming sound, his arms around her, holding her close to him, his face snug against her, his wing brushing her face, and went limp. Seconds later, his breathing evened out.

Chloe continued holding him, stroking him, didn’t stop her humming. It had been so close. She was exhausted herself, and she hadn’t spent the last two weeks in constant battle readiness, hadn’t sustained such terrible injuries. She could only guess how Lucifer was feeling.

And all that pain, all that disruption of their lives, just because of a half angel.

_ Let it go already, Decker, _ she told herself.  _ Lucifer’s right, the risk’s too great. You’ve already got so much. You’re happy. You’ve got the Devil who’s in love with you, you’ve got a beautiful, wonderful daughter. It’s enough. Don’t spoil it by wishing for things that might ruin everything. _

There was movement from Trixie’s side of the bed. Curious, she watched through half-lidded eyes as her little monkey crawled close on elbows and knees, raised herself up, and pressed a kiss to Lucifer’s temple.

She might as well not have bothered with her act, because when Trixie raised her head again, she looked straight at her. “We’ll make him well again, Mommy, right?” she whispered. “I’ve looked up a recipe for chicken soup. That’ll help even the Devil, right?”

Chloe smiled. “I think so, Monkey.” She extricated one hand to stroke her daughter’s hair. “I think so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to titC for plot advice. I ended up taking none of her suggestions, but I will keep them in mind for further parts of this series. <3


End file.
